


Something New

by itswheremydemonshide10



Series: Tumblr Prompts [5]
Category: Emmerdale, robron
Genre: Boyfriends era, M/M, background sugden family
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-15
Updated: 2017-07-15
Packaged: 2018-12-02 16:09:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 675
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11512845
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/itswheremydemonshide10/pseuds/itswheremydemonshide10
Summary: For @robert-sugden-trash who prompted boyfriends era + an icy cold glass of water on a very warm day.





	Something New

They may not have been in a proper relationship for very long, but Robert knows when Aaron is acting weird. Like right now.

They’re getting ready to go round to Diane and Doug’s for a barbeque to enjoy the first warm day of summer, and Aaron is, well… fussing. That is the only word Robert can think of to describe it. First he ran upstairs to change his shirt, then he spent ages in the bathroom trimming his beard, and now he’s playing unnecessarily with his hair in the downstairs hall mirror.

“You do know we’re going to my step-mums for a meal of burnt sausages, not going for tea at the Ritz right?” Robert asks him, leaning on the frame of the open door with his arms crossed.

“Yeah, I’m not an idiot.” Aaron fires back, seeming just as impatient.

“Then why are you fussing, you look great.”

Aaron seems to calm down a bit at that.

“Sorry, I just… this is the first time I’ve hung out with your family like this.”

“What?” Robert asks, thoroughly confused now. “My brother-in-law is your best friend, and you’ve known the rest of my family since you were a teenager? What on earth are you nervous about?”

“Yeah I know, but it’s different now init. I’ve never properly spent time with them as your boyfriend before.”

That hadn’t occurred to Robert, and the realisation stuns him into silence. Especially when he realises he’s more ok with that concept than he ever though he would be.

“I’m just not used to it yet, ya know? Us being real and public.” Aaron looks vulnerable as he says it, before continuing in a quieter voice “Part of me keeps expecting you to have to dash off home to Chrissie any moment now.”

Robert feels the guilt punch him in the gut. It feels like a physical ache whenever he gets reminded of how much he let Aaron down in those early days. He pulls Aaron into a hug, desperately wanting to remind him that this, them, is all real.

“It’s just you and me now, no one else.” Robert murmurs directly into Aaron’s ear as he holds him close. “And if he ever finishes getting ready, I want to go and show my gorgeous boyfriend off at my family’s barbeque.”

Aaron grins at that, and as they turn to walk out the door Robert reaches out to Aaron, making sure to hold his boyfriend’s hand all the way down the street to Diane’s front door.

-

Aaron is a little bit awkward for the first few minutes as Robert chats with Bernice and Doug, but then Diane sweeps in from the kitchen, and wraps first Robert and then Aaron in affectionate hugs.

“I’m glad you could make it boys.” She says in her usual breezy manner. “There’s beer in the garden, help yourselves.”

After that, Aaron loosens up, even more so when Adam bounds in the door after Victoria, clapping his best mate on the shoulder and dragging him out the back in search of food.

-

The sun is starting to get low after they’ve finished eating, but the weather is still warm, the sunlight hazy as it slips through the trees in the garden. Robert stands in the back doorway, content to watch Aaron in the midst of his family, laughing and joking, and is struck by how at home he looks here, how right it seems.

He wanders over, hands Aaron one of the glasses of ice cold water he’s carrying, and sips on the other one. The condensation from the glass is already dripping onto his hand, and it’s a refreshing change from the close, muggy air.

The smile Aaron gives him in return is bright and happy, and Robert can’t resist leaning in to press his damp, cool lips to Aaron’s warm cheek, not particularly caring that his family’s eyes are all on them.

As long as Aaron knows that Robert wants him here, he doesn’t mind. And that feels like the start of something new.


End file.
